Cayman Islands · Business & founder
Certificate of Direct Investment
Open
Last verified July 2026
Open. Valid for renewable 25-year periods.
The only Cayman route that carries the right to work — but only within the business you invested in. For an operating entrepreneur rather than a passive investor, it is the correct instrument, and at CI$1m it is half the CoPR.
Qualifying routes
$1.2M
Employment-generating Cayman business
CI$1,000,000 (roughly USD 1.2m) in an employment-generating business in which at least 30% of employees are Caymanian, with substantial management control and a demonstrable business track record.
The facts
- Minimum investment
- $1.2M
- Total landed cost
- CI$1,000,000 investment, plus a CI$1,000 application fee and a CI$20,000 issuance fee, plus annual occupation-based fees and CI$1,000 per dependant annually
- Timeline
- 4–12 months — Requires business plan review
- Physical presence
- 90 days per calendar year — the only Cayman route with a hard presence requirement
- Family
- spousedependent children
- Permanent residency
- Not directly; time counts as legal residence toward a later application
- Citizenship
- Not directly; legal residence can support BOTC naturalisation after 5 years
- Language test
- n/a
- Dual citizenship
- Permitted
- Requirements
- CI$1,000,000 in an employment-generating Cayman businessat least 30% of employees Caymaniansubstantial management controldemonstrable business track record90 days' physical presence annually
What can go wrong
- Work rights are confined to the business invested in. This is not a general work authorisation.
- The 30% Caymanian employee requirement is a real operating constraint in a small, expensive labour market and should be modelled before committing.
- 90 days' physical presence per year is required — the only Cayman route with a hard presence test.
- Requires substantial management control and a demonstrable track record; passive capital does not qualify.